CHARLES FILLMORE (UNITY CHURCH)

'Charles Fillmore' (August 22, 1854 – July 5, 1948), born in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Originally involved in real estate, he founded the Unity Church, with his wife, Myrtle Page Fillmore in (1889). Unity is the largest of the New Thought denominations. He became known as an American mystic for his contributions to interpretation of Biblical scripture.
At the age of ten, an ice skating accident dislocated his hip and left him with a withered leg - this event had a profound effect on his later life. As a printer's apprentice, he studied Shakespeare, Tennyson, Emerson and Lowell. He later worked as a mule-team driver and assayer before going into real estate. After marrying his wife, Myrtle and the births of their first two sons, he moved to Kansas City, Missouri. In 1886, Charles and Myrtle attended New Thought classes held by Dr. E.B. Weeks. These classes were influential because they proved useful in helping Myrtle with healing her tuberculosis. Myrtle was healed of her tuberculosis - which she attributed to her prayer and her involvement in the New Thought movement, and when Charles saw the effect that it was having upon her, began to deal with God via her philosophy and his own terminology, and he began to heal from his childhood accident. Charles studied philosophy and religion and soon had a vision of his work in Kansas City.
In 1889, Charles left his business to focus entirely on a prayer group that would later be called 'Silent Unity'. It was named this because of a legal conflict with Mary Baker Eddy over the use of the title Christian Science. That same year he began publication of a new periodical, 'Modern Thought', notable among other things as the first house to accept for publication the writings of the then 27-year-old New Thought pioneer William Walker Atkinson.
In 1891, Fillmore's 'Unity' magazine was first published. Dr. H. Emilie Cady published 'Lessons in Truth' in the new magazine. This material later were compiled and published in a book by the same name, which is a seminal work of the Unity movement.
Although Charles had no intention of making Unity into a denomination, his students wanted a more organized group. He and his wife were among the first ordained Unity ministers in 1906. Charles and Myrtle Fillmore operated the Unity organization from a campus near downtown Kansas City. The Unity Inn (Opened in 1905) was a popular feature; it was a cafeteria that was open to the public. The Unity Inn was a vegetarian eatery in accordance with the dietary habits of the Fillmores themselves.
In addition to the Unity magazine, Unity also produced a weekly magazine (run by son Lowell Fillmore), a children's magazine ('Wee Wisdom' - discontinued in 1991), and a business magazine - and ran a radio station (WOQ). Unity's best-known publication made its debut in 1924 - 'Daily Word' -- which features daily devotionals.
In 1928, Charles Fillmore made plans for moving to a farm adjacent to nearby Lee's Summit. Unity Farm would be the name of the new center. He also made plans to build a new church at Country Club Plaza - the nation's first suburban shopping center. The iconic Silent Unity tower and complex were completed in 1929 but development slowed during the Great Depression.
Myrtle Fillmore died in 1931. Charles remarried in 1933 to Cora G. Dedrick; she was a collaborator on his writings in his later years. Although Charles Fillmore died in 1948, the Unity School and Association of Unity Churches (founded as the Unity Ministers Association in 1934) continued and grew into a worldwide movement.
Fillmore had one of the earliest radio shows in Kansas City. During these shows, he would invite Fundamentalist preachers to debate. He won the debates by telling his opponents that he loved them and saw God in them, and none had anything to say after that. No mention of Charles Fillmore would be complete without mentioning his student Dr. Alice Cronley. Her ministry in Oklahoma City touched the hearts of people all over the globe and had a profound affect on the metaphysical movement.

Contents

Books

See also

External links

Books

Fillmore believed that his knowledge should be free to all, thus he never sought copyright on any of his books, and Unity House has been able to offer them in hardcover at trade paperback prices.

★ ''Atom-Smashing Power of Mind''

★ ''Christian Healing''

★ ''Dynamics for Living''

★ ''Jesus Christ Heals''

★ ''Keep a True Lent''

★ ''The Metaphysical Bible Dictionary''

★ ''Mysteries of Genesis''

★ ''Mysteries of John''

★ ''Prosperity''

★ ''The Revealing Word''

★ ''Talks on Truth''

★ ''Teach Us to Pray''

★ ''The Twelve Powers of Man''

See also

★ New Thought

★ New Thought Movement

★ Ernest Holmes

★ Emma Curtis Hopkins

★ Emmet Fox

External links

★ Charles Fillmore's works online

★ Charles Fillmore

★ Read some of Charles Fillmore's books in an easy-to-view format